Hospital Visit - Oneshot
by That One Shield Girl-Cheyenna
Summary: Max and Chloe visit Kate in the hospital after the events of Episode Two: Out of Time. T for Chloe's dirty mouth and mentions of things. Slight Max/Kate/Chloe.


"C'mon, Chloe, just pick something. We have to go and see how Kate is!" Max exclaimed softly, watching nurses in scrubs hurry by as her blue-haired friend, Chloe, was picking out what to pick from the vending machine. "You couldn't have ate at Two Whales Diner?"

"And have my mom bitching in my ear?" Chloe asked with a snort, a bottle of Mountain Dew Baja Blast in her hand as she looked through the candy and chips. "Fuck that noise, man."

"That drink looks like antifreeze," Max then commented with a sigh, holding a stuffed bear with a get well card and some balloons.

"You're starting to sound like the step-d**che, dude."

"Oh, god, I am…"

"Besides, it isn't _antifreeze_ , Max." Chloe stated, soon settling on a bag of barbecue flavoured chips. "It's, like… normal mountain dew with tropical lime soda in it, I think."

"I wasn't saying that it was antifreeze! It _looks_ like it! There's a difference!" Max exclaimed, sighing as Chloe got her chips and fixed her beanie.

"Whatever. Let's go see the bible thumper,"

"Don't make fun of Kate!" Max huffed, cutting a glare at the other teen as they walked to Kate's room.

The brunette listened to her childhood friend opening the bag and swearing under her breath at how loud it was. "Hey, Max, can you, like… wind back time so I can get something that's quieter to open?"

"Nope. Suck it up, buttercup."

"You suck ass, Max…"

"Missed you, too," Max finished, stopping at the door and pushing it open carefully.

The two walked in, greeted with a blonde girl in the hospital bed, looking lonely and tired as she toyed with the cross necklace around her neck.

"Hey, guys," Kate said, sounding hoarse.

"Hey, Kate… You feeling better?" Max asked, smiling and going over to the side of the hospital bed.

"Yeah, since you two are here…" Kate managed to simper, making Max blush a bit and smile softly.

"Thanks, I guess, dude," Chloe said, sitting in a chair and kicking her feet up on the other as she sipped her pop. "Sorry about that video shit. That can hella fuck a person up."

"Chloe, seriously?" Max asked as she set the balloons to join the others, glaring daggers at the other.

"C'mon, you know it's a habit I can't kick."

Max then proceeded to roll her blue eyes, sighing before smiling at Kate. "Who came to visit, Kate…?"

"Stella and Alyssa, mostly. My dad and sisters, too." The religious girl replied, smiling a bit. "Is my bunny okay?"

"Yeah, Kate. I've been feeding Trixie and stuff. I'm even thinking of moving her to my room while you're here," Max answered, smiling and tucking some of Kate's golden locks behind an ear before handing her the teddy bear with the card. "Here…"

"Oh, thanks, Max." Kate murmured, smiling and taking the bear with her free arm, since the other had an IV with an alarm that went off if she moved her arm too much.

Chloe watched and chuckled, popping a chip into her mouth and savouring the flavour. "By the way, Kate, I'm Chloe. Chloe Price. Bang Bang!" The blue-haired teenager introduced with a smile. "Mind if I call you Marshmallow?"

"I-I don't mind… Chloe," Kate said, smiling almost nervously.

Max smiled to herself and went over to the other chair, pushing Chloe's feet off of the furniture and sitting down. She then watched Chloe appropriately sit in her chair and put her feet in the other's lap with a smile.

"You're lucky that I care for you enough to let your dirty feet in my lap, _Maxine_ ,"

"And I know that I'm lucky," The brunette commented. taking out her old-school polaroid camera and snapping a photo of the other, who was smiling and squinting from the setting sunlight in her eyes.

The photo came out and Max took it, waving it in the air and putting it in the journal she carried before taking one of Kate and doing the same.

"Chloe and Kate, two of my closest friends," Max simpered with a grin.

"Aww, I'm touched." Chloe commented, smirking slightly.

"Th-Thank you, Max…"

Max smiled and began nodding off to sleep, her head tipping back as her eyes slowly slid shut.

 _Max lied on a dirt path through some trees, presumably a forest, drenched in rainwater as she sat up and looked around._

" _A-Again?!" She exclaimed aloud, slowly standing and seeing the outline of a deer, which ran up the path. So, Max followed the doe._

 _She quickly hurried up the path, seeing some trees falling towards her and sure to kill her. She raised her hand and started to feel a headache in the recesses of her mind as the trees began moving back up and into place._

 _She hurried past them, soon hearing them go onto their course as she continued to follow the outline._

 _The brunette continued to go back up the path, soon seeing the lighthouse towering through the thick trees._ There it is! _She thought, moving faster._

 _Max soon made it to the top, looking out to the bay and letting her expression melt into horror._

 _A freak tornado was coming closer to the town, a boat flying through the air and hitting the lighthouse, making the upper half break off and fall down the side and ruin the path before her._

 _The young woman raised her hand and felt time reverse again, watching things go back into place and managing to walk across the path._

 _The lighthouse then fell back down and ruined the path._

" _No turning back now…" She murmured, going where a bench should've been and taking the newspaper._

October 11, 2013… four days away… _She reminded herself as she read the date, starting to feel odd._

" _Max?!"_

" _What?!" Max called, looking around._

" _Max, wake the fuck up!"_

Max's eyes shot open and she bolted into an upright sitting position, bumping her forehead against Chloe's

"Sh*t, Max! That fucking hurt!" Chloe exclaimed, rubbing her forehead and glaring at Max.

"Sorry, Chloe… What did you need?"

"You blanked out on us, dude. Did you blaze it?"

Max shook her head. "I haven't been blazing it, Chloe. Just because you do doesn't mean that I do, too…"

"Yeah, true… You'd look cute with a septum piercing, you know that?"

"Chloe, that wasn't what you wanted to say, and I can tell." Max commented rather bluntly, watching her childhood friend closely.

"I was just wondering if you were hungry."

"No, actually…" Max started, starting to smile at her friend's reply. "Thanks, though, Chloe…"

"It's nothin. Just tell me if you are and I'll go get something, capisce?" The blue haired woman said, sitting back in her chair.

"Capisce, Chloe…" Max answered, looking at Kate. "How about you, Kate?"

"I'm a little hungry… And the food here is worse than what Blackwell offers…" Kate answered, smiling a bit.

"No shit, Goldilocks," Chloe commented, making both of the other teens giggle. "Anyway, I'm gonna get some food for Katie-Bug." She added, making the girl with hair kissed by sunshine blush until her cheeks were painted with a lovely shade of red.

Chloe watched the blonde and chuckled a bit as she pushed Max's feet off and stood. "Maximillion, you're on social duty, alright?"

Max smiled. "You got it, boss," She replied, moving her chair to face Kate, noticing that the corners of the other girl's lips were turned up in a small, relieved smile.

And Max didn't blame her. Max knew that since Kate was a Christian, the woman had put flyers around promoting abstinence, which made her a big target of bullying from Victoria Chase and her two popular cronies, and even Nathan Prescott, Victoria's male, richer equivalent, made snide comments behind Kate's back.

 _Ugh… The Vortex Club,_ Max thought.

The Vortex Club is a clique within Blackwell Academy and its' student body, which had started out as a group for the bullied and alienated, but turned into a group for the rich and the popular. Victoria and Nathan represented the Vortex Club now, so it had changed since it's start in the 80's. Changed for the worse, of course.

"Hey, Kate…?"

"Yes, Max…?"

"Did you ever know Rachel Amber…?" Max asked, watching the other closely.

Surprise at the question flashed in Kate's chocolate orbs as she managed out, "I-I talked to her once or twice… Partially because she wanted to volunteer for being my muse for an online project in art. She said that she had saw me working on something else one time and thought it looked nice. She seemed really kind, and Chloe tagged along and even joined in a bit…"

The blonde looked away when she was done. "She was one of the only nice Vortex Club members, too, even though Victoria and Nathan didn't like her as much because she was far less judgemental." She then added.

"Do you know what happened to her…? Chloe's been looking for her for months…" Max asked softly. "Chloe's devastated, believe it or not…"

Kate paused as she thought. "She said that she had to go to a mandatory Vortex Club party at the junkyard. 'Every member that is a rep must go', that's what she said." She then replied, adding, "And that's the last time that I saw her."

"Do you think that Nathan…" Max started, choosing her words wisely. "That Nathan drugged her, like he did with you?"

"I-I wouldn't be surprised… Not long after she told me that she had to go, Nathan asked me what her alcohol tolerance was. He said it was for some health assignment. He also offered me a glass of water, which I kindly refused…"

"Shit," Max muttered, standing. "Do you mind if I tell Chloe…?"

"Go on ahead. Chloe and Rachel were two peas in a pod, so this matters a lot to her…" Kate said, smiling.

Max smiled and thanked her quickly, then hurrying out of the hospital room and back to the nearest vending machines. Once the blue-haired teen was in sight, Max exclaimed her name, slowing to a stop next to her and pausing to catch her breath.

"Woah, Max… Is something wrong?" Chloe asked, looking worried as she toted two bags of chips and a candy bar.

"It's about Rachel. Kate mentioned that the last time she saw Rachel was at a mandatory Vortex Club Party at the junkyard… She told me that Nathan asked her if she knew Rachel's alcohol tolerance and offered some water to her not long after Rachel told Kate about the party…"

Max looked on as a nearly horrified look replaced the worry in her eyes. "That mother fucker… He must've drugged her! I saw syringes lying on the ground a day or two after that party!"

"Nathan must've been the person that 'changed her life'..." Max started.

"By drugging her," Chloe finished, scowling and looking like she was about to crush the poor little candy bar in her fist. "I'm going to kill him!"

"No, Chloe. We have to find Rachel and get solid, undoubtable proof that he's the culprit. The cops won't believe us without either one!"

"Ah… fuck, you're right." Chloe muttered, pressing her forehead against the glass of the machine and fixing her beanie. "This shit-pit really _has_ taken away everyone I ever loved…"

"We'll find Rachel Amber. I promise," Max said firmly, hugging her friend. "Got it?"

"Got it… This means a lot to me…" Chloe murmured back, wrapping an arm around her friend to return the hug, the arm with the chips wedged comfortably between the pair as she rested her chin on top of the brunette's head. "You're a hero. Saving me from getting shot by Nathan… The train track incident… What would I do without you?"

"I don't know…" Max answered, smiling a bit and nuzzling into her childhood friend. "But I regret not keeping in contact with you when I was in Seattle and all. Really."

"It's alright, Max," Chloe said, smiling. "We're still friends, right?"

"Right!" Max answered with a bright smile, not noticing Chloe's blush blossom on her cheeks. "And when Rachel's back, we can all be friends!"

"U-Um… right. Friends. All of us." Chloe repeated, smiling and letting go of Max to step back and rub the back of her neck sheepishly.

Max raised a brow before shrugging. "Get water for her." She said.

Chloe nodded and put a few coins in the drink machine, pressing the 'water' button and grabbing a bottle of water before turning back to Max and saying, "Okay, we're set."

Max nodded, turning to go back into the room when Chloe said, "Hey… Max…?"

"What's up, Chloe?" The brunette asked, turning back to the blue-haired woman with a curious look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry for bitching when you decided to answer Kate's call back at Two Whales." Chloe started, looking away. "It was rude, even for me."

Max smiled and gave a small hug to Chloe. "It's alright, Chloe… let's go back inside."

Max watched Chloe's eyes light back up as the taller nodded, in which Max let her go and held the door open for her.

Chloe chuckled and walked in, with Max following close behind. "Yo, Kate."

"Yeah, Chloe…?" Kate asked, looking at her with a small, albeit tired looking, smile. "What'd you get for me…?"

"Got you some water, two baked Lays original chips, and a Snickers bar." The blue-haired teen responded, smiling back and handing Kate the food. "Hope you like them."

"I-I like them, Chloe… Thank you…" The blonde murmured with a smile as Max sat down.

"No problem." Chloe said, smiling.

Max watched with a small smile, glad things were at a somewhat normal point in the moment. _This is how things should be…_ She thought.

The brunette watched her two friends talk as Kate ate the food, seeing the two of them smiling and jokingly and lightly punching each other on the arms. Max had to admit… the sight was quite heart-warming.

The brunette smiled to herself, listening to them. Max soon zoned out and started thinking of what happened at Two Whales Diner.

Not only did Chloe's mother work there, but Max had showed Chloe that she really had the power to control time by telling Chloe what the blue-haired teenager had and then predicting four events that would occur at the diner. They soon decided to leave when Max got a call from Kate, which had angered Chloe when the brunette answered. Max had felt bad for upsetting her closest friend, whom she hadn't bothered to keep in touch with for about five years and a month. But now it didn't matter too much. Kate was alive, that's what mattered.

Max smiled to herself, glad that she had managed to save not just one, but two of the closest friends she had around Arcadia Bay. They meant a lot to her, and even felt like they belonged with her. So it was great that they were all getting along.

"Chloe…?" Max cut in, watching the other two look at her.

"What's up, Max…?" Chloe asked, raising a brow and placing her hands on her own hips. "What's eatin at ya?"

"Thanks for helping Warren and I when Nathan attacked me as payback for when I ratted him out to Principal Wells." Max said, earning a smile and a nod from her friend.

The brunette smiled back and closed her eyes, thinking back on what happened.

Max let out a sigh, closing her eyes and announcing to the other two teens that she was going to take a nap.

She needed it, for sure. Since the whole predicament had started, she had barely gotten a decent sleep the night before and saved two people in two days. She deserved a reprieve.

When Max woke up, the reddish-orange rays of the setting sun filtered through the window and onto her face, making her squint as she slowly sat up, feeling warmth all around her and even feeling something digging into her back.

She opened her eyes and looked around, noticing that Chloe was also asleep, with an arm over her waist and behind her. She assumed that the digging feeling was Kate's knees, craning her head for a look and noting that she was correct once her eyes landed on the blonde locks.

Max felt her cheeks heat up as she turned onto her back, firmly wedged between the other two teenagers as she got her Polaroid camera out and took a selfie, making sure that the blonde and her old friend were in the frame.

As Max took the finished picture and looked at the photo, she smiled to herself and pocketed the item.

Even with the responsibility of having to look for a missing person and saving a small Oregon town, everyone needed a break.

Even an everyday hero.


End file.
